Financial News: German Companies Report Least Material Shortages Since Apr

German Companies Report Least Material Shortages Since April 2021

02/27/2023 - 05:03:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - Material shortages faced by Germany's manufacturers continued to ease in February to its lowest level since early 2021, survey data from the ifo institute showed Monday. In February, 45.4 percent of the companies surveyed reported problems with securing materials, which was the lowest level since April 2021. In January, the figure was 48.4 percent. "Many companies still can't ramp up production as desired," Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at ifo, said. "Fortunately, however, there are currently no signs that material shortages could worsen again."

The survey found that more than 70 percent of manufacturers of machinery and equipment, electrical and electronics companies, and automakers faced bottlenecks in raw materials and intermediate products. The situation continued to ease in the chemical industry, and in energy-intensive industries such as paper, plastics and glass. The share of companies that reported shortages in the latter group was below 20 percent. The paper industry was one of the least affected, with just 9.1 percent of firms reporting problems.

Last week, the ifo institute reported that its <a href=https://www.rttnews.com/3345778/german-business-confidence-improvement-signals-resilience.aspx target=_blank >business confidence indicator</a> climbed for the fourth month in a row in February, underpinned by stronger expectations, suggesting the resilience of the biggest euro area economy.

However, official data released later suggested that <a href=https://www.rttnews.com/3346447/german-economy-worse-than-expected-fall-in-q4.aspx target=_blank >Germany's economic contraction</a> at the end of 2022 was more severe than estimated initially, indicating that the economy significantly lost momentum at the end of last year and added to fears of a looming recession in the currency bloc.

In the February monthly report, Bundesbank said the economic output will fall again in the first quarter, but things could slowly pick up again as the year progresses. However, a significant improvement is not expected, the central bank added.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Market News provided by RTTNews

RECENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

Poland Industrial Output Contracts; Producer Price Inflation At 1-Year Low (29 min(s), 24 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Poland's industrial production declined for the first time in thirty-three months ...Full Story»

Taiwan Export Orders Continue To Fall In February (01 hr(s), 53 min(s), 24 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Taiwan's export orders continued to decline in February, data released by the Mini ...Full Story»

Germany Producer Price Inflation Eases To 15.8%, Lowest Since Sep 2021 (03 hr(s), 50 min(s), 24 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Germany's producer price inflation eased for the fifth straight month in February ...Full Story»

Malaysia Trade Surplus Shrinks To MYR 19.56 Bln (05 hr(s), 17 min(s), 24 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Malaysia's trade surplus decreased slightly in February, as imports grew faster th ...Full Story»

European Economic News Preview: Eurozone Foreign Trade Data Due (05 hr(s), 57 min(s), 24 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Foreign trade from the euro area and producer prices from Germany are the top economic ...Full Story»

China Retains Benchmark Lending Rates As Expected (06 hr(s), 16 min(s), 24 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - China retained its benchmark lending rates for the seventh straight month on Monday af ...Full Story»

China Loan Prime Rate Due On Monday (57 min(s), 36 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The People's Bank of China will announce its latest loan prime rate numbers, highl ...Full Story»

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Drops In March, Inflation Expectations Dip (38 min(s), 36 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Consumer sentiment in the U.S. fell for the first time in four months in March, accord ...Full Story»